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Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Last weekend was a big one in Edinburgh, with the Edinburgh Marathon Festival. I think there are now about 9 events.
Saturday 5km & 10km & Kids races
Sunday half marathon, marathon & relay.

Having done the half marathon & the marathon twice, this year I had signed up for the 5km - in my quest to conquer Arthur's Seat this year.

It was a hot day on Saturday as I headed into Edinburgh for an 11am start.

Stupidly I didn't look at the race details & didn't realise that everything was centred round Dynamic earth, rather than in Holyrood Park like most events there. Lesson #1 - read the details lol

Unusually I had come in by myself, Mr S & Bug were joining me later for the kids km, so I had to drop my bag & find the toilets before the race.....

The bag drop....an area on the grass. Massive queue of people picking up bags from the 10km, then discovered from another runner that we could drop bags for the 5k at the other end. Additional security we'd been told about.......none. I didn't see a single bag being checked.

Jogged round to the area near the start to wait for the toilets......5 minutes before the start had to abandon that idea. Not enough portaloos again Great run. Lesson #2 - leave more time than you think you need!

Joined my start area & at 11am the race started......went off too fast in first half km, needed a wee & it was really hot & humid :-(
so I really struggled up that f&@king hill, & my head was totally not in the right place.

The course was quite congested & other runners were stopping & walking too due to the weather conditions, which made it hard to get momentum too.
2km into 5km doesn't give you a lot of time to get your head together but I've run Arthur's seat plenty of times & I know I can run 5km no problem so I gave it everything to smash out the last 3km....& just look at that recovery & those Strava PRs :-)
I managed to just sneak in a second quicker than The Great Winter Run 35 minutes 12 seconds.
Not the run I had hoped for but with a few days post race to reflect.....Lesson #3 - I'm stronger physically & mentally than I think.

Finish area was really well organised & great goody bag as always. Nice to see that the organisers had listened to feedback from previous years regarding the generic medal & have added a trinket for each distance.

Then I met up with Mr S & Bug for the kids km.

Fabulous to see a massive turnout for this event for age 4-6, 1km accompanied.
Little Miss Bug was amazing, she ran for about 750m & then walked a bit but I had to carry her most of the last 100m as it started to rain & I think she was a little overwhelmed.
The support for the kids races was phenomenal with spectators lining the course. Little Miss Bug definitely worked the crowd, waving & smiling at everyone.Would I recommend it?......MAYBE...... I was disappointed yet again by the lack of race support round the start area, the baggage area on the grass & the lack of toilets, the km markers on the 5km also put some runners off as the 5 & 10k had slightly different starts so there were 2 sets of markers. But the finish area was really well organised this year, no bottle neck like previous events. The hub in Dynamic Earth was really good & the kids races were amazing.

Would I do it again?.....MAYBE.....I'm thinking of getting a relay team together next year.
So another weekend.....another medal for the collection. I have a few now!& a lovely glass of my favourite Chateau Neuf du Pape to celebrate

Thank you to Mr S for entertaining little Miss Bug while I was out having fun.

#10 Virtual Runner May Fun Run (any distance) 1st - 14th May

I left this one till the last day (14th May) & wasn't sure whether to attempt a fast mile, a 5k or a longer distance, so just decided to go out & see what happened......

A post Emily 5k P.B of 31:45

20% of entry fee to Friends of PICU

#11 Virtual Runner May Triathlon 1st - 31st May

My first virtual triathlon completed on 17th May @ my gym

Swim 400m, Bike 10km, Run 2.5km

Completed in 48:45 but overall including transitions 56 minutes

Absolutely delighted as I'd set a target of an hour

#12 Edinburgh Marathon Festival 5km 27th May

35 minutes 12 seconds.....watch for a blog post on this later this week

#13 Virtual Runner Run 22 for Solidarity #runformanchester 27th May - 3rd June

1.9 miles completed today (28th May) in 22 minutes.

A hot & humid day but kit on & 11 minutes out & back, it may be a few weeks before I receive this medal but it's one I'm proud to be able to add to my collection.

Upcoming / In progress events

#14 Awesome Virtual Running May 100 Mile Challenge

100 Miles during the month of May.

I've been running an average of 80 miles a month so decided to try & push myself in May, maybe not my brightest idea with so many events in May & a low mileage second week due to illness but I find myself at 28th May with 3 days left & currently on 88 miles......

#15 Benbecula Half Marathon

This is going to be a hugely emotional one but I'm looking forward to it - hope the weather & the midgies are kind. This also kick starts my official 16 week marathon training.

So I hear you say 15/17 already......I know......it just kind of happened!

It slows down from here though, as I say #15 starts my marathon training, but then that is the focus....& I have my eye on a marathon PB this year...crosses fingers & toes.....a marathon is a long way.

#16 Virtual Runner Wonder Runner July distance challenge

#17 Loch Ness Marathon (September)

Will I stop there, possibly not, but we'll see.

I'll leave it there for tonight, but I promise an update on EMF later this week

Wednesday, 17 May 2017

This one is down to my lovely
friend Lyndsey who emailed a group of us way back on 13th February about this
5k with inflatable obstacles.

On 8th March 7 of us from work
(Me, Lyndsey, Helen, Zoe, Katrina, Lynne & Patricia) and Lyndsey's sister
all signed up. Some of Lyndsey's friends also
signed up later so it was quite a wee gang by the time 13th May came round.

I wasn't too concerned about
the running but the 10 inflatable obstacles terrified me!

On Saturday morning it was
absolutely chucking it down as I headed off into Edinburgh to meet everyone.

Thankfully it had stopped
raining by the time we got to The Meadows but was grey & damp but we were
all excited & nervous about what lay ahead.

We were also joined by Zoe's
support /cheer / photography team, Luke & Eric. Thank you so much Luke for some cracking photos.

While we were waiting for our
start time 11.15, Patricia finished her 5k, she had the biggest smile on her
face. This was her first event since she had her little girl. Massive well done
xx

About 11.10 we were called to
the warm up area for a cheesy warm up hosted by Pure Gym.

11.15 we were in the start area
& we were in the first group to set off. They were staggering the start in
about groups of 15 to 20.

After the first obstacle there
was a bit of a run to the next one, we ended up naturally falling into 3
groups, loosely on running pace /ability....Zoe & I, followed by Lyndsey,
her sister Sarah & friends & then Helen, Lynne & Katrina.

The first 5 obstacles weren't
too bad and Zoe &! I seemed to quite a bit ahead of the rest of our
group....but then it got tough.

We came to an obstacle which
had massive queues & we were about 15 - 20 minutes waiting then probably 10
minutes getting over. I knew with my little legs I'd never jump it so I got one
of the race crew to let me use his hands to put my foot into & the other at
the top to take my hands & pull me up.....only to get to the top to
discover the same again though slightly less steep.

Seemed to be quite a bit of
running after that.

Then we got to the 10 foot
wall, this was also really difficult, although it had holes in it, it was
impossible to get a grip, I managed to get about a third of the way up and
again the friendly race crew took my hands and helped me pull myself the rest
of the way up. People were trying to climb down the other side but again almost
impossible to hold on but I decided to just throw myself over.

Then a massive obstacle that
involved climbing and bouncing... I was doing great till I lost momentum in the
middle & fell in a puddle in a dip. Absolutely soaked to the skin. Again
helped out by the race crew & by Zoe.

"Yes....I'm completely soaking wet now"

Then onto the final obstacle
the slide or the castle jump. I wanted to do the slide....again a bit of a
queue but this moved quite quickly....

The slide was simply awesome :-) including the foam at the bottom. The girl who came down fast after me managed to take me out at the back on the knees & I ended up flat on my back in the foam, covered head to toe.... I was completely ok, in fact it's the most I have laughed in ages.

At the finish area we got our
headbands & t-shirts.

As Zoe and I finished first I was able to get my bag from the bag drop and get video clips of the rest of the gang on the slide.

I think it's safe to safe we all had a brilliant time.

Would I recommend it?......YESOnly thing they could do with is somewhere to change....journey home in wet clothes meant I got a bit cold.It was also a bit pricey by comparison to other running events but definitely worth it so if you have the chance book as soon as you can to take advantage of the early bird prices.

Would I do it again?.....YES YES YES

I also completed my Virtual Runner May fun run on Sunday with 5k & another 19 seconds off my time.

Wednesday, 10 May 2017

As promised a post about this year's challenge, I'm sure most of you know what it is....the title kind if gives it away, but I'll fill you in on the details & background so far.

After a tough year last year, I was determined to do something a little special, especially in memory of my mum. I've found it hard to grieve & for me the way to cope is to do something positive & continue to make my Mum proud of the girl she made.

After my 7th London Marathon rejection in October 2016, I had already signed up for the Loch Ness Marathon - Thanks Rachael Welby. This will be my 4th marathon & whilst it's a huge commitment & challenge to run 26.2 miles, it didn't seem enough lol.

Inspired by Iain Opray's 16 for 16 (16 events in 2016) & Life & Lifting's 30 for 30 (30 events for her 30th birthday year), the idea of 17 for 17 started to emerge.

I think the first person I mentioned this to was my lovely friend Lyndsey Esland who then told her husband James who apparently thinks I'm a badass! Thanks James.

And so the idea of 17 for 17 began. But how to fit in 17 events logistically whilst being a full time working mummy & wife?

There is now a whole new world of Virtual events, offering all kinds of 'races' with amazing medals & you can usually complete these at a time, place & pace that suits you. So far most of my virtual events have been with Virtual Runner UK, & I have done one with Virtual Pace Series & signed up for one each with Full Medal Runs & Awesome Virtual Running Events.

I also have a number of traditional organised events. Check out my upcoming events page to see what is scheduled.

So here we are at March 9th & I 've collected a bit of a bling collection so far.

#1 The Great Winter Run 5k 7th January

35 minutes 13 seconds

#2Virtual Runner Resolution Run 1st - 8th January

Distance challenge over those dates 25.75km (16 miles)

20% of entry fee to The Cure Parkinson's Trust

Girls Run the world Runuary

Run everyday in January

#3 Virtual Runner Love you to the Moon & back February

Distance challenge over month of February 164.3km (102 miles)

20% of entry fee to Count the Kicks

#4 Virtual Pace Series International Women's Day 8th March (4th - 11th March)

Either 10k or 10 miles

Unfortunately just before my chest infection but managed to get 10km done

Virtual Event Conqueror events Route 66 - Team Unicorn

A team challenge to cover the 2,280 miles of Route 66

We smashed it, finishing as first team on 22nd March having started January 1st

Thank you Jo Gennari for asking me to be part of this.

#5 Kilomathon (13.1km) 9th April

1 hour 28 minutes 51 seconds

#6 Great Edinburgh Run (10 miles) 23rd April

New PB! by 3 minutes 41 seconds!

1 hour 52 minutes 7 seconds

Lands End to John O'Groats Virtual Race (605 miles)

I'm not including this in my 2017 challenge, though most of the miles have come this year.

Started 10th January 2016 & finally finished it 23rd April 2017

For a number of reasons my running fell apart a bit in the first part of 2016 but you can see I've totally turned it around....

Totally geeky stats
Jan to Sept 2016: 109.7 miles
Oct to Dec 2016: 178.8 miles
Jan to 23 April 2017: 316.5 miles

#7 Virtual Runner Give a girl the right shoes challenge April

Complete a marathon (26.2 miles) during month of April 125.4km (78 miles)

20% of entry fee to Wish upon a Star

#8 Virtual Runner May the fourth be with you Falcon 5k

A slow plod pre PT session & work on 4th May 36 minutes 33 seconds

20% of entry fee to Clic Sargent

And I'm still somehow running everyday...Day 221 today

I'll try not to leave to too long till my next post, I'm hoping the rest of May will deliver another 4 medals so watch this space